Stroud Greens has won the Seven Ward by-election, beating the Conservatives and Reform UK on a dramatic night.
Moya Shannon becomes the 24th Green Party councillor on Stroud District Council. She won with 439 votes, ahead of the nearest rival, the Conservative candidate Hena Mannan-rahman, who got 425 votes, followed by Reform UK (421), Labour (177), the Liberal Democrats (112) and UKIP (5).
She takes up the seat previously occupied by Labour councillor Richard Maisey, whose death in April sadly triggered the by-election.
Cllr Shannon said: “I am very grateful to the voters of this ward for putting their faith in me and the Green Party to represent them and I look forward to working for the best interests of the many voices in our community.
“I come to this job with my own particular set of values and goals. The healthy and sustainable use of our local environment and the agricultural, business, wildlife, and living spaces within it, are all very important to me, as are local transport solutions and community energy production. I hope to support people and make a positive difference in these important aspects of our lives.”
She added: “Having lived in this ward and raised my family here I have a deep connection to the place and the people, and it is both for the place and for the people that I intend to work.
“Many people have approached me with their ideas and with issues that need resolving and I aim to listen to and work on the concerns that have been brought up during this campaign. I will expect to hear many more and I will do whatever I can within my role to address these for all the people of the Severn ward.”
Cllr Chloe Turner, leader of the SDC Green group, said: “We’re delighted with this result, which reflects the strength of Moya as a local candidate and champion for her community, and wider support for our Green administration at Stroud District Council.
“We were always in a strong position, given feedback from residents showing that there was a local appetite for the Green ethos of fairer, greener politics. Richard Maisey was a very popular councillor and the people of Severn clearly wanted a community focused, green-thinking and warm person to replace him.
“I look forward to working with Moya as part of the newly enlarged Green group; she will be an asset to our friendly, dedicated and collaborative team.”
Conservative Hena Mannan-rahman, who lost by just 14 votes, said: “Thank you to all my Severn Ward friends that came out and voted. It doesn’t get much closer than this. Thank you again for all the support.
“Well done to all the candidates for running a clean campaign and congratulations to Moya Shannon.”
